Because We're Two
by Elerrina Star
Summary: A collection of drabbles, one-shots, etc., updated whenever I get inspired. Gordon and Batman/Bruce Wayne centric. No slash.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This has been languishing on my hard drive for well over a year now and I figured I might as well post it before it got lost in the depths of my computer, never to be seen again. Seeing as how I don't have a collection of drabbles for Batman yet (I've got collections for two other fandoms, might as well add one for this one too!) I decided this would be as good a time as any to start one. Most will revolve around Batman/Bruce and Jim Gordon (because I'm a sucker for the friendship between those two) and none will be slash. Updates will be sporadic at best, mostly just whenever I get the inspiration (which hasn't been often lately, unfortunately). Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Title: Glimpses of the Past<br>Characters: Batman/Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon  
>Word Count: 200 (double drabble)<br>Warnings: None

"...'Why do we fall?'"

"What?" Gordon asked in surprise.

"Someone very important used to ask me that," Batman answered after a brief moment of hesitation. He didn't look at Gordon as he did so, instead staring back out over the city once again and looking as if his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Gordon lowered his eyes and fiddled with his coffee, obviously curious but also not wanting to interrupt Batman's train of thought. Eventually however he could contain his curiosity no longer and he spoke up again; "Did you ever find out the answer?"

When Batman just glanced at him Gordon elaborated, "To why we fall?"

It may have been the commissioner's over tired brain playing tricks on him, but on that night Jim Gordon would have bet his reputation that he had caught a glimpse of a tiny smile – a real, human smile – on the Batman's face.

"So we can learn to pick ourselves back up," The hero finally murmured, in a voice much softer than usual, before finally slipping off into the shadows of Gotham's alleyways and vanishing silently into the night.

"Thank you," Gordon breathed after a long and thought-filled moment of silence. "I needed that."


	2. Repaying the Favor

**A/N: Here we go, drabble #2! This one is brand new, and the inspiration for it goes to my reviewers. I'm telling you guys, reviews feed my muse, as this update proves. Special thanks to _MrsPencil, DancingMagpie_, and _IcyWaters_. You guys rock! :D**

**Disclaimer(for the whole collection): Do I look like Bob Kane, WB, Christopher Nolan or any of those other lucky people? No? Then I think it's fairly obvious that I neither created nor do I own the right to Batman, Jim Gordon, or anyone else associated to the fandom. I do however own a heart that loves them (except for Rachel. I _hated_ Rachel), and will always return them (relatively) unharmed once I'm done playing with them. :)**

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><p>Title: Repaying the Favor<br>Characters: Batman, Jim Gordon  
>Word Count: 200 (another double drabble)<br>Warnings: Mild to extreme fluffiness, depending on how you look at it. Some hints at events from BB and TDK.

Jim was asleep.

They were supposed to meet each other, two men trying to keep Gotham together by way of secret rooftop appointments. Batman had been wary of the meetings, not wanting to risk Jim getting caught with Gotham's Most Wanted. But it was something that Gordon had insisted upon. "We're two, remember?" He'd said quietly. "This doesn't change that."

So Batman had agreed. When he arrived that night, though, all he found was Jim hunched over his desk in an exhausted slumber.

A myriad of emotions flashed in Batman's eyes, and his gaze shifted to the coatrack by the door.

Moving stealthily across the room, Batman went to the door and returned, Jim's old brown coat in his hands. Silently, so as not to wake the exhausted commissioner, Batman draped the coat across the sleeping man's shoulders. "It's time I returned the favor," he murmured quietly. Resting a gloved hand on his partner's shoulder, he squeezed just slightly before slipping out of the window and back into the shadows of Gotham.

When Gordon woke up later, he could only stare at the coat that slipped off his shoulders and try to decide why its being there felt so important.

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><p><strong>Please review! :)<strong>


	3. Fallen Hero

**A/N: Ok, honestly I don't know what's up. I _never_ come up with drabbles this quickly. And I know it's only #3, but still. I think it's you reviewers, you just really inspire me to shoot out more! So a big thanks to you guys, and cookies too! *huggs* Anyway, I was going to save this for a rainy day or something, but I have no self-control whatsoever, sooo... here's another one :) Hope you guys like it!**

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><p>Title: Fallen Hero<br>Characters: Bruce Wayne with a little bit of Gordon  
>Word Count: 150 (I will get down to 100 words eventually...)<br>Warnings: Angst, apparent character death. This one is actually a tag to a scene from TDK. You guys should be able to recognize it pretty easily. If you can't... well then obviously I need to write it better. XD

o0o0o

The streets were in chaos, which in a way was perfect; people running for their lives weren't likely to notice Gotham's favorite Playboy slipping out of a building that he had no business being in anyway. Bruce looked past the crowd towards the platform, nodding in grim satisfaction when he saw the mayor being rushed to a waiting car. The Joker had failed, Garcia was safe.

His satisfaction turned to horror and anguish, however, as a gap in the crowd revealed the last thing Bruce had ever wanted to see.

Gordon was lying sprawled on the platform, eyes closed and body still. In spite of the roar of the crowd Bruce heard with soul shattering clarity Gerry Stephens announcing hoarsely that Jim Gordon was dead.

_Dead._

It took all of Bruce's willpower not to sink to his knees in despair as one tortured word ran continuously through his mind.

_No..._

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><p><strong>*sniffle* Poor Bruce... Please review! <strong>


	4. Fallen Hero II

**A/N: First, thanks again to all my amazing reviewers. I love you guy. :D Now, apparently my last drabble decided it needed to be extended (I blame this on _DancingMagpie _and _IcyWaters_), soooo... I present drabble number two of three in what is now going to be a mini-arc. Not only that, however, but also (thanks again to the _IcyWaters)_, I now have plans to write a full on story based on Batmans POV concerning Jim's aparent death, which will basically be a much longer and more detailed version of the current drabble arc. It'll be a while before it gets up, unfortuantly, thanks to college, but it is on my list of fics to be written ASAP. So be on the lookout for it in the hopefully not too distant future. :)**

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><p>Title: Fallen Hero (23):  
>Characters: Batman, mentions of others<br>Word count: 100 (FINALLY! :D)  
>Warnings: Angst; tag to a scene from TDK, so some spoilers.<p>

o0o0o

He sat in the shadows of the building across the street, looking down at the tiny and familiar front porch. The family was moving around inside; he could see them through the window. The kids looked happy, laughing and teasing while the mother looked on with a fond and mildly exasperated smile.

They didn't know yet that their world had just come crashing in, destroyed by a man with a grease painted smile.

When Stephens came and Barbara screamed into the night that Batman was to blame for the death of her husband, all he could do was silently agree.

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><p><strong>*sniffle* Poor Batman... *hugs* Part three coming soon! Happy Halloween! *hands out Bat-shaped cookies to all* :D<strong>


	5. Not So Fallen Hero III

**A/N: Here we go, the final installment of my "Fallen Hero" arc. I hope it satisfies you guys, because you've all been so fantastic in your reviews that you deserve it! I'm not sure how pleased with it I am myself - it was _so_ hard not to make it fluffy and therefore OOC. So make sure you leave me a review and let me know how I did! =D**

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><p>Title: (Not So) Fallen Hero (33)  
>Characters: Batman and Jim Gordon<br>Word Count: 200  
>Warnings: Spoilers for TDK; possible OOCness? =P<p>

o0o0o0o

He couldn't believe it.

For the first few seconds after Batman pulled himself up off the pavement, all he could do was stare at the man across from him. His gaze was hesitant, wary, because it couldn't possibly be true.

But it was.

It was _Jim_. He was standing there, decked out in SWAT gear and armed with a shotgun, the barrel of which was currently aimed at Joker's painted face. He was _right there_, breathing and talking and one hundred percent alive.

_Alive_.

As the Joker was hauled away Jim finally look up, meeting the Dark Knight's wary and cautiously hopeful gaze.

And suddenly the despair, guilt and utter _aloneness_ that Bruce had felt since Gordon's "death" faded away. There were questions he eventually wanted answered, _why?_ being the first and most important. But for now all that mattered was that Jim, the man who was his partner and maybe even his friend, was alive. All that mattered was that he hadn't lost yet another person to the darkness and evil that was Gotham City.

"You okay?" Jim asked.

"Fine," he answered. And for the first time in years, it was actually close to being true.

"Welcome back, Jim."

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><p><strong>Sooo... too fluffy? Not fluffy enough? Either way I hope you guys liked it! Please review! :)<strong>


	6. Christmas Spirit

A/N: Ok, first, so sorry for not posting in so long! My Batman muse abandoned me again and I just recently got it back. Second, so sorry for not replying to the reviews for the last drabble- life got busy and by the time I had the chance to reply it seemed like it had just been too long. But I appreciated EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Seriously. You guys are amazing. Take this next story as my Christmas gift to you all, as a huge thanks for your encouragement, support, and continued reading.

This fic was actually inspired by a screenshot I found from the BTAS episode "Holiday Knight". For a bit of fan art type stuff (and by that I mean the screenshot with some font added - hey, I'm not the most artsy person around!), check out the top post on my livejournal:

http:/ /story-seeker. livejournal. com/ (Just remove the spaces). (You can also access my livejournal via the _homepage_ link at the top of my bio here on ff,net)

ALSO: Has anyone else seen the newest trailer for TDKR yet? If not then go find it on youtube - it's the 2nd official trailer. It's freaking amazing!

Ahem. Anywhooo, enough of my random ramblings... on with the fic!

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><p>Title: Christmas Spirit<br>Characters: Batman and Jim Gordon  
>Word Count: 972 (for all of you who wanted longer posts. :)<br>Warnings: This... is fluff. Pure and unadulterated (unless you count the _teeniest_ pinch of angst I threw in, because I just can't seem to help myself). In fact, this may be TOO much fluff. But I blame it all on my muse, who got into a Christmas-y mood and demanded that I write Christmas fluff. I hope you all enjoy it anyway. :)

o0oOo0o

"Gordon."

Jim's head snapped up and around, a light curse slipping past his lips as the shadowed figure that he'd been waiting for appeared behind him, startling him. Even after all this time he still jumped when the Batman appeared without warning. He doubted he'd ever really get used to it.

"I swear you do that on purpose," the older man grouched, though his mouth tugged upwards in a small smirk. Batman didn't say anything, though he may or may not have smirked in reply; it was hard to tell, what with the dark and all.

"Busy night?" Jim asked as his masked partner shifted in the shadows.

"Is there any other kind of night in Gotham?"

Gordon gave a brittle laugh of sympathy, his forehead creasing in a frown as he noticed the stiff way the Dark Knight held himself. Gordon wanted to ask if he was injured but knew better; whenever he'd done so in the past the hero had always brushed off his concerns and then quickly slipped away to avoid any more questions on the subject.

_Stubborn __idiot,_ Gordon's mind supplied; but within the thought was a hint of fondness that the commissioner would vehemently deny the existence of if anyone asked.

"You'd think the crazies could take a break, just for one night," Gordon said, continuing their not-quite-conversation. "It _is_ Christmas Eve, after all. Even Joker should be able to appreciate that."

"Joker doesn't appreciate anything," Batman replied darkly. Gordon sighed, knowing that of course his masked partner was right. It had been a nice thought, though. One holiday without having to worry about someone getting blow up, stabbed, shot, doused in laughing gas, or any of the million other terrible, insane things that seemed to happen to people who lived in Gotham.

"Shouldn't you be at home, Jim?"

The question had him looking up again, offering a one-shouldered shrug in reply. "Barbara has the kids this Christmas," he said in what he hoped was a casual tone. "I don't have any reason to be at home."

Batman made no reply, a gesture that Jim was exceedingly grateful for. He didn't really want to talk about it anyway, or confess that the whole reason he was up here on the rooftops in below-freezing temps was because it was far too quiet and lonely at home. With a suppressed sigh Gordon shrugged again, dropping his gaze to the two drinks he held in his hands. Coffee, black as Gotham's soul and still steaming in spite of the cold and the amount of time Gordon had been on the rooftop already.

With a small grin Gordon looked back up, reaching out to offer one of the two cups he held to his masked partner. He smirked a little when Batman just stared at the offered beverage with almost wary confusion.

"Coffee. _Hot_ coffee," he said by way of explanation, arching an eyebrow and staring until Batman slowly reached out to take the styrofoam cup. With another small smirk Jim turned away, looking out over the city again. He liked the view from up here; from this vantage point Jim could imagine Gotham as he wanted her to be: clean, happy, safe.

"Nights like this make me think that we _can_ actually win someday, you know?" Jim hadn't exactly meant to speak, but he refused to feel awkward as he felt the Batman staring at him from behind. "I mean, it's easy to imagine Gotham as a good place when all you can see are thousands of lights covering all of the bad things that usually tend to show."

Jim risked a glance behind him and felt his face flush just a little at the look he was receiving from the man opposite him. Batman's mouth was twisted upwards in a small smirk, but it lacked the sarcasm that usually accompanied such an expression.

"That's rather poetic coming from you, Commissioner," Batman said with what Gordon thought was an unusual amount of teasing in his tone.

Jim shrugged a little, returning Batman's smirk with one of his own. "Blame it on the Christmas Spirit," he said lightly, earning another smirk from his partner.

"I thought it was just because you were getting soft in your old age," Batman responded, sending Jim into a fit of spluttering and hacking as he almost inhaled his drink.

Gordon glared daggers at his partner, still coughing as he did so. "I'll show you soft," he growled, though the menacing effect he had been playing at was completely wasted on the much more ominous and intimidating man who stood across from him.

Batman was about to respond when the sound of sirens erupted somewhere below them, shattering the peaceful night with their wails and shrieks of alarm.

"Duty calls," Gordon said with a sigh and a rueful shake of his head.

Batman nodded, turning away and slipping into the shadows. He stopped, however, just before he vanished and turned back to face Gordon. "Merry Christmas, Jim," he said. Then he was gone, slipping away as he always did, out of sight before Gordon could overcome his surprise enough to respond.

"Merry Christmas," Jim replied eventually, even though he knew that Batman was no longer there to hear him. Turning to leave the roof, Gordon smiled just a little to himself. It was true that Gotham was still Gotham, and no amount of "Christmas Spirit" or wishful thinking was going to change that. But if Gordon felt just a little happier when he left the rooftop than he had when he'd first arrived, well, that he _could_ blame on a little Christmas Spirit. And maybe also on one masked hero and two unfinished cups of coffee that had somehow managed to overcome the loneliness he'd been feeling not too many hours before.

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><p>Gyah... Hope that wasn't too fluffy for you. Cookies to everyone who made it through to the end! ;)<p>

Oh, and hope everyone has a very, very MERRY CHRISTMAS!


	7. Before The Never Coming Dawn

**A/N:** Woooo, another long one-shot! This one was a completely random thing inspired by some snippets of things we see/hear about in the 2nd TDKR trailer. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Again, sorry I didn't reply to reviews. School starts up again in just a week or so and I've been spending all my time writing before it comes to where I won't have time to do so again. So as I figured you guys might prefer another update over review replies, I went with that. I do appreciate every review, though, more than you guys can possibly guess.

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><p><strong>Title:<strong> Before the Never-Coming Dawn  
><strong>Characters:<strong> Batman and Jim Gordon  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 888 (what are the odds?)  
><strong>Summary:<strong> They say the night is darkest before the dawn... but sometimes it seems as though the dawn will never come. And even if it does, how many of us will really survive to see it?  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> Super angst. Seriously. You may hate me by the end of it. Heck, I almost hate MYSELF. Spoliers for TDKR trailer #2. Very mild language.

o0oOo0o

Something was wrong.

He could tell just by the way Jim held himself. For a moment Batman hesitated in the shadows, not revealing himself as he took in every aspect of his partner's stance and observed with an intense and calculating gaze every move Gordon made.

There was weariness in Jim's stance, but then again there always was. Dejection, too, was there, but again this was fairly normal. But there was something else, something that Batman recognized with painful clarity, yet something that he rarely associated with James Gordon.

It was _despair, _and maybe anger, and it was rolling off of Jim in waves so thick and heavy that they were almost palpable. Gordon stood on the edge of the rooftop with his shoulders stiff, hands clenched in the pockets of his coat; anyone who didn't know him would have seen nothing more than a man with far too much on his mind. But Batman knew all about despair, about anger, and he knew Jim; and what he saw now was a man who was crumbling under some heavy burden, forcefully holding himself together in order to keep from falling apart.

The very thought of what would happen if Gordon crumbled under whatever was now trying to crush him made Batman - made _Bruce_ - sick. Aside from Alfred, Gordon was the one constant he had left; he couldn't fall. _He couldn't._

With this thought Batman stepped forward, his boots scuffing purposely against the roof to let Gordon know that he was there.

Jim turned, and in catching his gaze the despair and anger became ever more obvious. And Batman saw other things too, now. Sadness, resignation; it was the look of a man that was just about ready to give.

Batman didn't have to ask what was wrong; for once the question was clearly readable in his eyes.

"I'm being let go."

The words were quiet, calm, and so unexpected that Batman wasn't even sure that he heard right.

"I'm not supposed to know yet, but something like this... well... it's not an easy secret to keep. Garcia is kicking me out; probably replacing me with someone who actually likes those damn social events and press conferences. Someone who believes in the peaceful Gotham that everyone likes to pretend we have now_._"

Gordon's tone was even, and he spoke with an ease that told of a speech long practiced before it was ever said aloud. He met Batman's unbelieving, angry gaze for a few short seconds before dropping his, unable to look the hero in the eyes any longer. Before he turned though Batman caught sight of a new emotion, a flash of something that, again, the hero found himself painfully familiar with: guilt.

The Dark Knight felt rage well up within him, though outwardly he remained as cool as ever. How _dare_ they? After everything Jim had done for this city, after all he'd sacrificed, Garcia was just going to kick him out like a useless puppet whose purpose had been fulfilled and who now was no longer needed. His own from grace he could take, for him it had never been about being loved. But this? No. After everything Gordon deserved better than this.

"I'm sorry." The quiet words shattered the tense silence, and once more Bruce found himself completely taken aback and uncomprehending.

"For _what_?"

Gordon gave a bitter bark of laugher, his walls threatening to shatter as he looked up at Batman again. "For everything," he said, mimicking the words he had spoken the night Harvey Dent had almost killed his son. "I'm sorry that I couldn't make this city better so that you wouldn't have had to do what it is you do. I'm sorry that I trusted Dent and got you into this mess. I'm sorry that I ever listened to your _stupid, self-sacrificing, idiotic plan_ to give yourself up so that this damn city could have it's damn white knight. And I'm sorry that the mayor is kicking me out before I get the chance to prove to everyone what you really are."

Batman could only stare, speechless with shock. He had known, or guessed, that Gordon felt some guilt over the events surrounding the Joker's reign of terror, but this? this was... _insane!_

"Jim-"

"Don't." The interruption was firm. "Don't tell me that none of this was my fault."

Batman stood, feeling absolutely helpless, and hating it. Everything had seemed to finally have been changing for the better. Gotham was safer than it had been in years; no new masked villains had popped up, there had been no new gang wars or mob bosses. Why now was it all suddenly falling apart?

Batman looked up as Jim walked past him, headed for the stairs that would take him from the roof. His shoulders were slumped, now, as if he finally found himself unable to hold them straight any longer.

"Gordon."

Jim stopped, his hand resting on the rail. He half turned back, his head bent low and his gaze focused downwards. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I'll help you for as long as I can. After that..."

With an exhausted sigh Gordon turned away again, the words he had left unsaid hanging in the air as he vanished into the shadows of the stairwell.

_After that... you're on your own._

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><p>Yeesh... after this I feel the need to write something happy. Thanks for reading!<p> 


	8. The Unsung Hero

**A/N: **Ok, so I know I promised a happy chapter after that last update. This isn't _happy_, per say, but it's not _unhappy_, either. I guess you could call it a kind of character study, sort of, maybe? Anyway, this will probably be my last update for a while; college starts up again tomorrow and that doesn't leave me much time for writing. HOWEVER. If you guys have any prompts/things you'd like to see me write up I'd be more than happy to get some ideas. I can't promise to write them, of course, but I do promise to do my best. Thanks again for your continued reading/reviewing. I think I managed to reply to the reviews this time, but if I missed anyone then I'm super sorry!

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><p>Title: The Unsung Hero<br>Word Count: 250  
>Warnings: None.<p>

o0oOo0o

Jim Gordon doesn't know it, and if you tried to tell him he wouldn't believe you. And he isn't alone; not many other people would believe it either if you told them that Jim Gordon is Gotham's best – that he's the Knight that deserves the most praise yet the one no one chooses to notice. But he is, and those people who refuse to see it? Well, they are wrong.

See, most people only notice men like Harvey Dent; guys who stand out in a crowd, who make themselves _impossible_ to ignore. The kind of men who always know exactly what to say and exactly who they need to say it to.

Now, I'm not saying that Harvey Dent wasn't a good man – he is! Or he used to be. He had been exactly what Gotham needed, a public face that gave people hope. A White Knight.

Then of course there's Batman. Batman is – Batman _was _a symbol, something for people to believe in. The Dark Knight.

But Jim Gordon? Gordon's just a cop who does the best he can with what little he's got; he doesn't ask to be noticed, and is therefore easily ignored. He's an ordinary man who gives everything and asks for nothing but a little help in return. And that's what makes Jim Gordon different; that's what makes him special. _That's _what makes him Gotham's real Knight. Because it's the ordinary men – the ones no one notices – who really make the difference in the end.

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><p><em>There now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Thanks for reading!<em>


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